Plug receptacle device



PLUG RECEPTACLE DEVICE Fild'sept. so, 1955 2' sheets-sheet 1 April 2, 1935. w- ERHARD 1,996,699

PLUG RECEPTACLE DEVICE Filed Sept. 30, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 2, 1935 L5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLUG BECEPTACLE DEVICE William Erhard, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application September 30, 1933, Serial No. 691,677

6 Claims. (C1. 173-330) This invention relates to electrical connector Fig. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative devices and particularly to plug receptacle deform of the device; vices ior extending an electric circuit to one or Fig. 5 is a sectional view along line S-l of more currentconsuming devices. More particu- Fig. 4 showing a plug in operative position.

5 larly, the invention relates to multiple" plug re- Fig. 6 is a plan view or a further modification 5 ceptacle devices, which enable the extending oi of the device, illustrating the manner in which an electric circuit to a plurality of current-conthe modiiied plug to be used with the device cosuming devices at the same time, the receptacle operates therewith; and being adaptedto receive a plurality of plugs con- Fig, 'I is a sectional view along line 1-1 of l nected to the various current-consuming devices. Fig. 6. l0

This application is a continuation in part oi In the drawings the same numerals are used io mycopending application, Serial No. 603,850, illed designate like elements in the several embodt- April 7, 1932. ments,

- An object of the invention is to provide a cornw Referring to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings. the

l5 pact and simple device which is capable ol low receptacle comprises a solidbody i formed of any 15 cost production and which is highly eiilcient in suitable insulating material such as Bakelite, performing its intended function. hard rubber, etc. In the form of the device il- Another object of the invention is to provide a lusizrated, the body i is adapted for attachment device of small dimension which is constructed by means of opposed straps 2 attached to the so as to comprise a minimum oi simple parts and body. For example, the bodv may thus be at- 20 which is designed to permit the greatest possible tached to a conventional electrical outlet box so number oi electrical connections thereto. that the receptacle itself constitutes an electri- A further object ot the invention is to provide cal outlet. As will appear more clearly hereinan improved device which is much easier to use after, however, the device may-take any other than prior devices of the same class. Heretofore, desired forni, such as illustrated in the modiilca- 25 plug receptacle devices, which are commonly used tions described later. in the home and like places, have embodied a Body i has opposed ends 3 and 4 and is protwo-prong plug and a receptacle designed to revided with circularly arranged openings 5 and ceive the plug prongs. It is dilcult to insert a central opening 6. These openings are preithe plug prongs in the receptacle where the reerabiy round in cross section but any other suit- 30 ceptacle is in an out of the way place. such as able form of opening may be utilized. Each of behind a piece of furniture as is often the case. the openings 5 communicates with an annular One must grope blindly with the plug and enrecess l and each opening is preferably formed deavor to align both of the prongs thereof with with portions of varying diameters, there being the receptacle openings. This dilculty is elima portion 8 oi certain diameter and a portion 9 35 inated by the present invention which contemof reduced diameter. A plug prong-receiving plates as its preferred form a device using a sincontact element I8, conforming in shape with gie prong plug and a receptacle designed for use portion 8, is disposed in each oi the openings l, therewith. In using this device, it is merely necas clearly illustrated in Fig. 2. In the event essaiv to insert the single prong of the plug in that the openings are round. as preferred. ele- 40 a receptacle opening. ments i8 may take the form of tubular metallic These and other objects of the invention, as membesone *nd 0f each 0f elements i5 eX' well as the structural details of two embodiments tends through cucularly arranged perfofations thereof, will more clearly appear from the iollowm an annular ring 4 Seated in the annular re* 4a cess 1. The said ends of elements i0 are bent 45 gsdacescpuon and accompanying draw or dared outward, as at i2, and are connected Fig. l is a perspective view of a preferred form tgglagr uw mvided oi.' the invention showing the manner of cooperal E to in tth sidethereoise '.1 tion of one or more plugs with the receptacle; a po t a e e F13 so as to form a terminal for the attachment o! an 56 :518.215 aSeCtlODal View taken through the Cellelectcal Conductor Such as i..

ter of an operatively positioned plug and through At or adjacent the end 3 of the body' there m the Centex' 0f the receptacle device? provided a disk IS having circularly arranged Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 openings I6 therethrough which align with open- 0!F18.2; ingsinthe body. Disizmaybemoldedineli` the body, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The portion II of the body may be raised as illustrated to provide a seat for plugs which may be operatively associated with the receptacle. Circularly arranged recesses or apertures I8 may be aligned with openings I6 and 5. A connector member I8 in the form of a pin or rod extends through central opening 6 and is connected at one end to disk I5, its other end projecting from end 4 of the body and constituting the other terminal of the device to which a conductor, such as 20, may be attached.

The plugs, which are adapted to be used with the receptacle above described, each comprises a unitary insulating body 2|, through which tubular prongs 22 and 23 extend. Prong 22 is adapted for insertion in one of the openings 5 and is preferably bent as illustrated to effect good mechanical and electrical engagement with the contact element I0. It will be understood that any other renement toward this end may be incorporated.

A contact ring or sleeve 24 surrounds prong 22 and is generally coaxial therewith. This ring is electrically connected to prong 23 and is adapted to enter openings I6 of disk I5 and contact the disk. The inner ends of the tubular prongs are adapted to receive the ends of electrical conductors 25 and 26 which may be securely anchored by means of screws 21 and 28 passing transversely through the body of the plug and through the respective tubular prongs. A cover plate 28 is provided to cover the heads of the screws and prevent contact therewith.

The plug is preferably arcuately shaped so as to more readil, permit the use of a plurality of plugs at the same time. When operatively associated with the receptacle, each of the plugs curves outwardly, thereby permitting easier manipulation of the various plugs.

It will be seen that the tubular members IG and ring II are adapted to extend an electrical connection from the prong or prongs 22 of one or more plugs to terminal I3, while disk I5 and the pin or rod I3 are adapted to extend an electrical connection from the ring or rings 24 of one or more plugs to the other terminal ot the receptacle.

Referring now to the modiiication of Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, the receptacle comprises a solid body IA also formed of any suitable in sulating material, such as Bakelite, hard rubber, etc. As illustrated, this body is formed in the manner oi the ordinary plug type receptacle which is adapted to be screwed in an electrical socket device. Body IA has opposed ends 3A and 4A and is provided with circularly arranged openings 5A and a central opening 6A extending therethrough from end to end. These openingsl are preferably round in cross section but any other suitable form of opening may be utilized. A plug prong-receiving contact element IUA conforming in shape with openings- 5A extends, through each of these openings. In the event that the openings are round, as preferred, elements IOA take the form of tubular metallic members. One end of each of elements IUA extends through circularly arranged perforations in metallic shell I3A, which forms one terminal of the device, and also through circularly arranged vapertures in metallic ring IIA. The ends of element I 0A are preferably flared as at I2A this serving to not only maintain the elements rigidly attached to body IA, but also serving to electrically and mechanically connect the elements through ring I IA to shell IlA. If desired, the ring may be eliminated, since it is not. absolutely necessary.

End 3A of the body is provided with a centrally located recess 30 adapted to receive a circular contact disk ISA having circularly arranged plug prong-receiving openings IGA, there being one such opening for each of the openings 5A. Openings IGA are substantially radially aligned with the corresponding openings 5A so that radial pairs of openings are provided for the reception of the plug prongs as illustrated. Preferably, although not necessarily, body IA is also provided with circularly arranged recesses 3| which are aligned with openings IBA of disk ISA and adapted to receive the extended end of a plug prong, as shown in Fig. 5.

A metallic connector member ISA which preferably takes the form of a screw, extends through opening 6A in the body and is connected to disk ISA, being threaded into a central opening thereof.

The head of the screw serves as the other terminal of the device, as will be readily understood from the known construction of ordinary plug devices. It will now be quite obvious that tubular elements IIJA are each adapted to extend an electrical connection from one of the prongs of a plurality of plugs to the shell terminal I3A, while screw IBA is adapted to extend an electrical connection from the other prong of each plug to the tip terminal.

A modified form of plug is provided. Each plug comprises an insulating body 2IA which is adapted to removably receive an insulating shell or housing 32, a suitable screw 33 or other fastening means being -provided to detachably secure these parts together. Prongs 22A and 23A extend through body ZIA, as illustrated and the upper threaded ends of these prongs serve as terminal or binding posts to which the conductors 25A and 28A may be attached. By means of this construction, a small and narrow plug is provided so that a relatively large number of such plugs may be used with the receptacle as above noted. It should be noted `:hat the plugs are elliptical shape, the front portions being narrow so as not to interfere with each other. The prong-receiving openings of elements I 0A and disk ISA are of such dimension with respect to the prongs that the prongs slidably and positively engage the metallic surfaces to insure good electrical contact. The resiliency of the prongs further insures good contact.

In Figs. 6 and 7, there is illustrated a further modified form of device having a receptacle body IB. In this device, the terminals take the form of flat prongs 34 and 35, which are adapted for insertion in a socket having slit-like openings adapted to receive them, as well known. Prong 34 forms an extended end of a strip 36 which is attached to the body by screw I9B. Prong 35 is integral with and extends from ring I IB which is secured to the end ofthe body by the iiared ends of elements IDB. The strip and ring seat in central and annular recesses 31 and 33, respectively, provided in body IB.

In this device, the body is also modified in that the upper end thereof is formed to provide an extending cup-shaped portion 39 having slots 40 cut therein. The upper end of the body is also recessed at 4I and a metallic cup-shaped member 42 rests nicely in the recess and within cup 39. The metallic cup-shaped member is provided with slots 63, each corresponding with a slot 40 and being substantially radially aligned therewith as shown more clearly in Fig. 6. Slots 4l are, however, preferably wider than slots 43, for a purpose which will appear more clearly herematter.

The plugs which are adapted to be used with this form of receptacle are generally similar to those above described, but are modified in that the prong 23B extends transversely from the body of the plug and is flattened and bent as at 44. The longitudinally extending prong 22B of each plug engages elements NB as before but theend of each prong 28B engages the interior surface of the fingers of member 42 formed by virtue of the slots cut therein (see Fig. 6). The reason for having slots 4l wider than slots 43 will now be apparent since this prevents any possibility of engagement of prong 23B with the insulating lingers of the cup-shaped extension 39 and insures that the said prong will positively engage the nngers of member 42 and make good electrical contact therewith.

It will be obvious from the disclosure and the foregoing description that the invention provides a compact and simple device which may be readily and economically manufactured. Such device is also very efiicient in operation and is more acceptable to users than bulky and cumbersome devices designed for the same general purpose. Although several embodiments of the device are disclosed herein, it will be understood that these are for the purpose of disclosure only and that other changes and modications may be made within the scope and spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. A plug receptacle device, comprising an insulating body having a plug-receiving end, a plurality of openings and another opening disposed axially with respect to the others, a plugreceiving contact element disposed in each of said plurality of openings. means connecting said contact elements together and to a terminal, a Contact member adjacent said axially disposed opening at the plug-receiving end and having a plug-receiving portion corresponding to each of said contact elements, and a connector member extending through said axially disposed opening and connecting said contact member to a second terminal.

2. A plug receptacle device, comprising an insulating body having opposed ends and a plurality of openings and another opening disposed axially with respect to the others, all of said openings extending through said body from end to end, a plug-receiving contact element disposed in each of said plurality of openings, a terminal member connected to said contact elements. a contact member adjacent one end of said axially disposed opening and having a plug-receiving portion corresponding to each of said elements, each said plug-receiving portion and its corresponding contact element being arranged to receive the contact elements of the plug, a second terminal member, and a connector member extending through said other opening and connecting said contact member with said second terminal member.

3. A plug receptacle device, comprising an insulating body having a plurality of openings and another opening disposed axially with respect to the others, a plug-receiving contact element disposed in each of said plurality of openings, a terminal member connected to said contact elements, a contact member adjacent one end of said axially disposed opening and having a plugreceiving portion corresponding to and over-lying each of said elements, each said plug-receiving portion and its corresponding contact element being arranged to receive coaxial contact elements of a Jack-type plug, a second terminal member, and a connector member extending hrugh said other opening and connecting said contact member with said second terminal member.

contact element being arranged to receive the prongs of a plug, a second terminal member, and a connector member extending through said centrai opening and connecting said contact member with said second terminal member.

5. A plug receptacle device, comprising a solid insulating body having opposed ends, one oi which is centrally recessed, and a plurality of circularly arranged openings and a central opening, all of said openings extending through said body from end to end. a plug prong-receiving contact element extending through each of said circularly arranged openings and conforming in shape therewith, a terminal member connected to said contact elements, a centrally disposed contact disk carried on said recessed end in the recess thereof, and having a plug prong-receiving opening for each of said elements, each said prong-receiving opening and its corresponding contact element being arranged to receive the prongs of a plug, a second terminal member and a connector member extending through said central opening and connecting said contact disk with said second terminal member.

6. A plug receptacle device, comprising a solid insulating body having opposed ends and a plurality of circularly arranged openings and a central opening extending therethrough from end to end, a centrally disposed cup-shaped extension, having a slot therein for each of said circularly arranged openings, on one of said ends, a plug prong-receiving contact element extending through each of said circularly arranged openings and conforming in shape therewith, a terminal member connected to said contact elements, a cup-shaped contact member disposed in said cup-shaped extension and having plug prong-receiving slots aligning with the slots of said extension, each of said prong-receiving slots and its corresponding element being adapted to receive the prongs of a plug, a sdcond terminal member, and a connector member extending through said central opening and connecting said cup-shaped contact member with said second terminal member.

WILLIAM ERHARD. 

